Wondering
who is the smart guy who thought of this clever idea by reintroducing a replica of
the Nikon S3 of 1958. The original version of 2,000 units (extended to 8,000 later)
of this camera was only offered as chrome finish. The camera has a companion redesigned
RF-Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 which has a 9 diaphragm blades and carries as starting S/N from
20XXXX onwards while the camera also bears similar starting number. The focusing
system retained ascombined rangefinder/viewfinder with 35mm, 50mm, 105mm reflected
bright frame (with no parallax compensation), 1 sec - 1/1000 + Bulb + T (Time) exposure and X-sync at 1/60
& FP sync up to 1/1000. No
other RF-lenses were announced thus far (2005). There were some 3rd party offers
from Cosina/Voitlanders but seemingly, it wasn't a viable success commercially. Neither
there were any other accessories available so, this camera is not cheap either, with
a suggested retailed price of USD5,000-00 but most often, "used" S3 Y2K
may vary greatly in price as one confirmed "desperate" auction sale at
Ebay a set has sold for halve the original price. So, it remains strictly as a collector's
item, patching
the needs for those who have missed the generation of the great rangefinder days.

Similar to the chrome finished version
of the S3 Y2K classic rangefinder, this black chrome finish version was announced
shortly after the original offering of the S3 Y2k. Other specifications remain the
same except the serial numbering started from S3 30xxxx instead of S3 20xxxx for
the original S3Y2k. In Photokina 2002, Cosina announced a Nikon Rangefinder Mount Bessa R2S, would it revive interest of the old
rangefinder days of photography (update: The ambitious project was discontinued along
with a series of RF-lenses due to poor sales).

Nikon
SP
Black Limited Edition,
14.01.2005.

Unlike the previous Nikon
S3 Y2k debuted back in year 2000, this recreation of the legendary Nikon rangefinder
camera came bundled with a reissued multicoated, 7 elements in 5 groups design RF
W-Nikkor 3.5cm f/1.8 lense and has a suggested price of 690,000 yen (original SP
with lense were approx.; 88,000 + 39,500 yen minus inflation..). The total production
quantity has an initial "suggestive" number of 2,500 units where all are
supposedly meant for domestic market in Japan. The camera as well as the companion
wideangle lense will each bear a starting number from SP 0001 (camera) & 0001
(lense). The entire package will consist of the camera, lense, production certification,
lens hood, cap, case and accompanying boxes. This faithfully recreation camera has
its famous universal optical rangefinder system to accommodate the widest range for
focal length from 2.8, 3.5, 5.5, 8.5, 10.5 and 13.5 cm RF-Nikkor lenses. The shutter
is using cloth curtain system and a built-in self timer.

Download a PDF copy
of Nikon SP with specification as well as nomenclature of the cam,era.

Would
appreciate the affordable owner of this superlative camera to provide some original
images. The above (top left) image was sent via a contributor who does not want to
reveal the source. Actually, it would be nice to have images for all the three models
featured here, as usual credit will be given for any contribution. Thank you.